this is gendered—removing agency from a male abuser onto a female victim is a classic rhetoric of patriarchy? what were you wearing? what did you say to make him hit you? www.liberalcurrents.com/swiping-left...

Swiping Left on MAGA

The thing about a ‘no girls allowed’ treehouse is it doesn’t have any girls in it.

liberalcurrents.com

This is setting up cover to support and if necessary perform rape apologia for the next favored bro politician whose Reddit history makes it clear that he believes rape victims deserve it.

Rape is an ugly word for an ugly thing. It’s uncomfortable to say because it represents a truth that creates moral obligations that a lot of us would rather avoid. But we must not avoid them.

Moira Donegan@moiradonegan.bsky.social · 4w ago

You know, when you’re talking about forced intercourse, I think it’s fine to use the word “rape.”

"There may be some institutionally backed misogyny on the left" -- men who have worked, doggedly, over many years, to create a culture of institutionally backed misogyny on the left

I wrote about the rise and fall of Graham Platner, a candidate whose political appeal rested on him looking like exactly what he turned out to be. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Why was the pundit class so quick to defend Graham Platner?

To some of Platner’s most influential backers his swaggering, reckless, and casually brutish masculinity was understood not as a liability, but as a virtue

theguardian.com

Extremely telling detail from this WSJ piece about Platner's demise: "Women on the campaign told Platner he was being managed by advisers who treated them unfairly and didn’t value their ideas," with one telling him point-blank "Hey, you have a very sexist, misogynistic staff."

The Red Flag That Led to Graham Platner’s Implosion Was Hiding in Plain Sight

Maine’s populist Senate candidate made a costly miscalculation when he doubled down on his troubled background.

wsj.com

a victim's statement is evidence.

His very first impulse was always to make himself the victim and that should have been a giveaway

Emma the Sewer Socialist@mayorseidel.bsky.social · 4w ago

Every fucking scandal people said Platner has changed, Platner has grown, Platner has apologized. At no point did he do any of these things, nor did anyone present evidence that he had. He was a nasty piece of shit the whole time, and they sprinkled that on him like an incantation.

The desperation to avoid confronting why the bloodthirsty rapist merc composed entirely of red flags was so appealing to them, the petulant tantrums over why liberals can't elect a rapist as a treat when conservatives do it all the time, it's frothing resentment that misogyny is less tolerated now.

You can only ignore “personal red flags” as irrelevant to the political if you don’t understand that the interpersonal exercise or weaponization of power - like in telling rape victims to take responsibility, calling women “hatchet wounds,” or locking a girlfriend in a room - is itself political.

If you’ve spent the last 48 hours saying “none of the prior ‘red flags’ were relevant,” “it’s not about whose instincts were right or wrong,” or “anyone saying they were right is gross and gloating” you should be doing a lot of introspection about why you want to downplay misogyny.

Puff the Magic Hater@mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 4w ago

I know everyone is probably quite sick of discussing Platner, but I want to say that I have been thinking a lot about his infamous Reddit comments and how easy it was for some people to dismiss his victim-blaming around sexual assault.

You simply must understand: Leftist men *need* to engage in a little rape, as a treat, because it is their right. Disqualifying rapists would remove the Real Men from contention, and Real Men are the only voters and candidates who count.

NY Times Pitchbot@nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 4w ago

Analysis | Graham Platner's implosion could have a chilling effect on a future faux-working-class, Nazi-curious rapist's ability to become a United States Senator.

You can only ignore “personal red flags” as irrelevant to the political if you don’t understand that the interpersonal exercise or weaponization of power - like in telling rape victims to take responsibility, calling women “hatchet wounds,” or locking a girlfriend in a room - is itself political.

Patriarchy rewards almost all men who are accused of sexual violence while multiplying the harm felt by women who come forward. Platner’s “movement” never intended to change that. Plenty of “progressive” movements don’t, because they do not actually believe harming women is a moral wrong.

Thank god someone as callous and dishonest as Graham Platner in his dropout announcement won’t be in office

what a surprise. again, he reacted like this when the Nazi tattoo was revealed! he wasn't contrite, there was no actual acceptance or suggestion of change, it was pure entitlement and anger. All of this should have been obvious.

This is the culture they want. They do not believe in the kind of progressivism that ends patriarchal violence; they believe in the inferiority of women as a sex class; they believe that an accusation of sexual violence is worse than the act of violence.

Kat Tenbarge@kattenbarge.bsky.social · 4w ago

A lot of the people posting terrible takes about sexual violence victims know they’re wrong. It is an expression of solidarity with perpetrators, who tend to occupy higher positions of power, versus victims, who tend to be disempowered. Sometimes it is because they are perpetrators, too.

I actually kind of believe the likes Platner & Brett Kavanaugh when they say they have no memory of committing sexual violence. Not just because these guys were so drunk at the time, but also because committing sexual violence is so banal to them that it’s not distinct enough to be remembered.

One of the findings in my research is that there is never enough evidence to satisfy people who want to offer a perpetrator impunity. They can always dream up a new way to blame the victim—and ignore all the other damning, relevant evidence by cherry picking some small detail that shouldn’t matter.

Kat Tenbarge@kattenbarge.bsky.social · 4w ago

Trying to pick apart a woman's text messages to prove she's lying about being raped is gutter behavior. Consent can be revoked at any time and reading insinuations into text messages that the sender denies were there is ACTUAL journalistic malpractice. I would not trust a man who does this!

Graham Platner is a Bad Person and if you’re supporting him through this you are too.

This is rape culture, this is why victims don’t report, and anyone doing this is a bad person.

Kat Tenbarge@kattenbarge.bsky.social · 4w ago

Trying to pick apart a woman's text messages to prove she's lying about being raped is gutter behavior. Consent can be revoked at any time and reading insinuations into text messages that the sender denies were there is ACTUAL journalistic malpractice. I would not trust a man who does this!

They think the real moral failure is when women dare to speak up about men.

Kat Tenbarge@kattenbarge.bsky.social · 4w ago

The way many if not most people respond to women coming forward with sexual assault allegations shows me that they don’t want sexual violence to be exposed. They want victims to be silent. They don’t want to deal with or even have to hear the truth. This is rape culture.

if you make it a point to call credible allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence "uncorroborated" you're a piece of shit

It's tedious to have to litigate every disclosure of sexual violence against a powerful or hell even not-powerful man in terms of "credibility" and "corroboration," when everyone knows that what's at stake is not whether the specific allegation is true but whether it matters.

Any progressive movement that cannot commit to dismantling misogyny and excising rapists and rape apologists deserves to fail

Emily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑@emilylhauser.bsky.social · 3y ago

Heterosexual predation falls neatly within (& reinforces) the boundaries of misogyny/male supremacism. We've only recently begun to recognize sexual assault as a crime against the girl/woman & not against the man/community to whom she belongs. 7/

Lmao. Lmfao even. Our antipathy was based on a clear pattern of behavior by a man who clearly has a tenuous relationship with morality, called women “hatchet wounds,” engaged in DV, etc. Antipathy towards a person like Graham Platner was the definition of rational even before yesterday.

If he hasn’t dropped out by the end of the business day I’m walking Rt 1 in Hancock and taking down his signs